BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team gave it their best effort in their first NCAA Tournament game since the 2003-04 season, but the Broncos were unable to top 11th-ranked Syracuse as the 14th-seeded Broncos fell to the third-seeded Orange 77-53 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo. With the loss, the Broncos finish their season with a 23-10 record, the third-highest single-season wins total in program history.
Shayne Whittington and Tucker Haymond anchored the offensive attack for the Broncos, with each finishing with 11 points on the game; Haymond went 5-of-11 from the field, while Whittington was 4-of-7 with three made free throws. David Brown finished with nine points, falling one short of recording double-digit scoring performances in every game this season, and Connar Tava contributed six points, six assists, and three rebounds. WMU's bench out-scored the Orange's 13-11, with Jared Klein, Hayden Hoerdemann, Taylor Perry, Charles Harris, and Kellen McCormick all chipping in.
The Broncos' offensive attack was stifled by the effective defense of the Orange, as WMU shot just 34.7 percent from the field and turned the ball over 13 times. That said, the Broncos forced 12 Syracuse turnovers, including eight in the second half alone. WMU excelled at getting to the free throw line and converting, going 15-of-20 from the charity stripe to bolster the effort.
Things weren't always so grim, however, as the Broncos hung with one of the toughest teams in the nation for the better portion of the first half. Brown drove and delivered a lay-up at the 18:23 mark to tie the game up with the Broncos' first basket, and Haymond made it a 7-4 game with 16:16 to play in the half with a fast break lay-up triggered by grabbing his own rebound. Haymond kept the Orange's lead in the single-digits with another fast break make, this one off a bounce pass from Tava , and Perry made it 19-11 with 10:11 to play with a lay-up off the glass. Syracuse extended the lead throughout the rest of the half, though, going ahead 15 with 5:42 remaining thanks to a lay-up by C.J. Fair, and the advantage reached 19 points with eight seconds remaining after Fair tipped in a Tyler Ennis miss that made it 40-19.
WMU cut the lead to 16 points early in the second half, with Haymond scoring the first five points of the period for the Broncos to make it 42-25. Trevor Cooney completed a four-point play after drilling a three and drawing contact, though, to make it 46-26, and Fair added a lay-up to make it a 22-point game with 15:23 to play. Syracuse's largest lead of the afternoon came with 3:54 to play, after Ennis made a jumper and drew a foul from Austin Richie to make it 71-43.
